Signal of Collapse (5)
A little girl in a cap walked into the orphanage.
I turned my head.
"Simon. What are you?"
I already knew what had happened to Nike.
He had sacrificed himself to break the curse on his little sister.
So what about Simon?
"What kind of grudge do you have against the cult leader that you’d help me?"
A gust of wind swept across the playground.
Simon’s golden hair whipped in the breeze.
She had a straight back and the solid build of someone hardened by years of sword training.
For a moment, I found myself thinking she looked striking as a warrior.
"At first, it was revenge. My older sister was kidnapped, and after that she killed herself at Paradise Garden."
On the cult leader’s orders, the Apostles had been going out and forcibly bringing back ordinary women from outside.
So she was one of the victim’s family.
There were so many of them that it wasn’t exactly rare.
Still, becoming an Apostle for revenge isn’t something you see every day.
Simon swept her silky hair back from her forehead.
"I’d learned swordsmanship from my father since I was little, so becoming an Apostle wasn’t that hard. I stayed close, waiting for a chance to kill the cult leader, but I failed every time."
Powerful Apostles were always gathered around the cult leader.
It must have meant she had been lurking alone, waiting for an opening all this time.
"My trainer back then was Nike. He wasn’t as good a swordsman as I was, but he had far more experience."
The outline of the whole thing was starting to come into focus.
Just like Peter had explained things to me, Nike must have helped Simon adjust to Cheonyang-ji.
"That guy loved drinking, but he was such a miser I never saw him spend a single cent. He always made me pay for everything."
A lonely smile touched Simon’s lips as she spoke about Nike.
"I didn’t like him that way. But we were pretty good friends. There was a lot I learned from the way Nike lived, from his attitude toward life and the way he never stopped trying. You probably wouldn’t know, Judas."
I knew.
Back when Nike had been an instructor at the Dio Guild, just watching how he treated the interns had told me enough.
"One day, Nike got completely drunk and asked me something. He wanted to know whether, if he ever died, I could take care of his little sister."
Her beloved older sister, her friend Nike.
Had those two deaths driven Simon’s hatred for the cult leader so deep that it had rooted itself in her bones?
"I don’t remember exactly what I said while I was drunk. The truth is, I kept hesitating. I was scared I’d end up dying pointlessly like Nike too... But now."
Simon looked at me.
"I’m going to keep that promise, even if it’s late."
She would look after Nike’s little sister.
And she would avenge her sister.
That was Simon’s goal.
At that point, I wanted to make one thing clear.
It wasn’t something I really needed to say.
But for some reason, I wanted to say it to her.
"I’m the one who killed Nike. He killed my comrades in the dungeon and tried to kidnap them."
A heavy silence settled between us.
Even if she had drawn her blade and attacked me like she had before, I wouldn’t have cared.
Taking a life came with that much responsibility.
"Thank you."
But the words that came out of Simon’s mouth were unexpected.
Her gaze drifted up toward the sky.
"That stubborn bastard. So he’s finally free. Drink your fill up there."
Nike’s life had been hell.
From the moment he opened his eyes in the morning to the moment he closed them at night, he had lived as nothing more than an extension of the cult leader’s will.
Maybe death had set Nike free, just as Simon said.
"Judas. Why are you doing this? Why do you want to get rid of the cult leader?"
Unlike Simon, whose motives were crystal clear, I didn’t have some grand trigger driving me.
No, that wasn’t true.
Because it’s what a hero is supposed to do.
I met Simon’s eyes.
"That’s a stupid question. A bastard like that shouldn’t be allowed to live."
"Justice, then? That’s surprising. I thought you were cold-blooded."
I didn’t think of myself as a righteous man.
If anything, I thought pretending to be righteous was dangerous.
I was only holding on to my own code.
The cult leader was probably moving according to his own version of justice too.
"Fine. Judas."
Simon took a step closer.
"I’ll work with you. Honestly, I was having a hard time doing this on my own. Tell me the plan, and I’ll help however I can."
The plan, huh.
I pointed toward the little girl in the cap walking into the orphanage building.
"I’m going to use her."
It was Nike’s little sister.
"You’re seriously going to kidnap Jiye and take her to the cult leader? Are you out of your mind?"
Simon bristled, her face twisting in anger.
Considering she even knew the girl’s name, she must have already been sneaking around here a few times.
"Don’t worry. That’s not going to happen. Simon, you protect Jiye. That’s your job."
"Fine. Got it. And then?"
We had to bring the long, tedious war with the cult leader to an end.
And the final stage would be...
"The Cheonyang Grand Assembly."
Simon’s eyes widened.
Once a year.
It was the event where believers from all over the country gathered in one place.
They rented out an entire stadium, and the crowd reached a staggering hundred thousand people.
"That’s when we settle this."
Simon nodded.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The next day, I returned to the Eunchong Orphanage.
The moment I got out of the truck, the person who had come out to greet me welcomed me warmly.
"Mr. Choi Yongki. Welcome! I don’t even know how to begin thanking you."
The elderly woman with the full head of white hair was the orphanage director.
She wore a faded, worn hanbok.
Ever since monsters had begun appearing, the world had been overflowing with orphans.
To make matters worse, the government had slashed the orphanage budget.
Keeping a place like this alive in times like these must have been a brutal struggle.
"To think the hero of Gangnam would show such kindness to a shabby little place like ours. Thank you, truly."
"Please keep my visit here a secret."
"Of course. Absolutely!"
The word kindness made my skin crawl.
This was just something necessary.
I knocked on the truck, and someone climbed out of the driver’s seat.
"Whew. I haven’t driven in so long my hands are starting to go numb."
The man looked like a frightened rat.
He could alter his appearance at will, but today he was in his own original form: Jo Jeong-hwan.
"I’ll unload everything here!"
Jo Jeong-hwan stretched extravagantly and began hauling out the supplies one by one.
Then the children came flooding out of the building.
"Wow! What is all this?"
"Hey, it’s food!"
"There are toys too! Awesome!"
Snacks, daily necessities, dolls, toys—everything.
I’d bought tens of millions of won’s worth of supplies the orphanage needed.
The director stepped forward and introduced me.
"Children. This is from this man. You should thank him first."
"Thank you!"
"Wow! This is so cool! Thank you!"
Just as the children were reaching for the boxes all at once, I stepped forward and blocked their way.
"Hold on."
"Before you take any of this, there’s something you need to promise me."
The kids were practically writhing with hunger in front of the food.
"You don’t leave anyone out, and you all get along with each other."
"Aww, of course!"
"We’re all friends already!"
Their answers were half-hearted.
Once I left, they’d probably forget every word I said in perfect order.
Hmph. This isn’t going to be enough.
I watched them for a while.
Most were anywhere from five years old to high school age.
One boy with a sturdy build caught my attention.
He was sitting on the stairs, glaring in this direction.
Come to think of it, he was there during the soccer game too.
He was clearly the one who ran the group.
The boy frowned, looking dissatisfied.
I pulled a soccer ball out of one of the boxes without even unwrapping the plastic and tossed it to him.
He caught it with a thunk.
"You know Jiye, right? Take care of her."
It was a short, firm request.
These kids weren’t ignorant of how the world worked.
They’d all understand exactly what I meant.
The boy stood up.
"Mister. Are you a hunter?"
"Yeah. D-class, though."
The hard expression on the boy’s face softened considerably.
"I want to be a hunter too. Make a lot of money."
I couldn’t feel even a trace of mana coming from him.
I didn’t know whether he had any talent or not.
But rather than stomping on a seed that was just starting to sprout, I decided to give him hope.
"When you’re grown, come find me. I’ll recommend you to the Dio Guild."
At last, the boy smiled.
Then he shouted out with all the force in his small body:
"Hey! Anyone who messes with Jiye from now on is dead, got it?"
"Yes... big brother."
"What the hell? Don’t answer like that! I said, got it!!!"
"Yes, yes!!!"
The children, stiff with fear, answered loudly.
I couldn’t stay glued to Jiye’s side twenty-four hours a day.
And I had no idea how to force the orphanage kids to become her friends.
Still, if things went this far...
At least she won’t get bullied.
Jo Jeong-hwan took over the children with practiced ease.
"All right, all right! Kids! Want to line up? First, let’s try some ridiculously delicious bread!"
The children’s cheers rang out across the playground.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Under the wisteria tree.
Jiye and I sat across from each other on a wooden bench.
Like a rabbit, Jiye opened her tiny mouth and munched on snacks.
She was eating so eagerly that she didn’t even notice the crumbs stuck to her lips.
I took out a handkerchief and wiped them away absentmindedly.
"Thank you."
Jiye gave a small bow.
"You’re JeeJee, right?"
"Huh? How did you know my nickname?"
Nike’s last words before he died.
...JeeJee. I’m sorry.
JeeJee was the name he had used for his own little sister.
Jiye held out the drink beside her.
"Aren’t you going to eat, mister?"
I was in my twenties now, even if I had already lived through my fifties in another life.
"Kid, I’m twenty-three."
"Oh. Then Uncle Yongki!"
"Call me whatever you want."
"Then... big brother?"
Jiye smiled brightly.
The red mark covering one of my eyes throbbed faintly.
For a moment, a corner of my chest went sharp with pain.
I understood why Nike had tried so hard to protect her.
If an angelic little thing like this existed in the world, who wouldn’t want to protect her?
After finishing his work, Jo Jeong-hwan came over and sat down on the bench.
"Ow. My back. Playing with kids is no joke."
Jo Jeong-hwan had a natural talent for winning children over.
His little one-man performance, complete with freely changing faces, had captured every one of their eyes.
"Thanks for your hard work, too, Mickey Uncle! Here, open up."
Jiye picked up a snack and held it out to Jo Jeong-hwan.
Mickey Uncle was short for Mickey Mouse, the nickname the kids had given him.
"Sure thing. Thanks, JeeJee!"
Jo Jeong-hwan exaggeratedly crunched the snack Jiye had put into his mouth.
"Is it good, Mickey Uncle?"
"You bet! Damn, this is good! It tastes even better because pretty Jiye gave it to me!"
At that moment, a group of children approached the bench.
"Jiye, we’re going to play tag. Want to join?"
It was the sort of ordinary conversation children shared every day.
"Huh? Really? ...Me too?"
And yet Jiye’s eyes filled with tears as if she were overwhelmed.
"It’s cloudy today, so your face should be okay, right?"
"Mhm!"
Sunlight made the curse on Jiye stronger.
On a day as overcast as this, she could run around as freely as she wanted.
"Yongki big brother. I..."
"Go on."
With my permission, Jiye dashed off with a face full of happiness.
Jo Jeong-hwan plucked a few more snacks from the box and said, still chewing, "You said you had another job for me?"
I kept my eyes on Jiye.
"I need to take that girl. The cult leader ordered me to bring her in."
"...What?"
Jo Jeong-hwan slammed his hand on the table.
"What kind of motherfucking pervert bastard wants to do what to a little kid like that?!!!"
Jo Jeong-hwan huffed and puffed, then stole a glance at me.
"So? You’re not really planning to take her, right?"
"I am."
"Huh?"
"You’re the one who’s going."
"Huh?"
"..."
"...Huh?"
I placed a hand on Jo Jeong-hwan’s shoulder.
"Jeong-hwan. Become Jiye."
As I had already confirmed, his transformation ability was nearly perfect in every respect—gender, voice, face, build.
He couldn’t grow taller, but he could make himself smaller.
"You want me to turn into a seven-year-old? Ah... that’s pretty painful. Besides, Jiye’s body is tiny to begin with..."
"Then we’d have no choice but to bring the real Jiye to the cult leader... Is that what you want?"
Jo Jeong-hwan was a wanted criminal, but he had a good heart.
Even if our interests hadn’t already lined up, he probably still would have agreed to help me.
"If this goes well, I’ll make it worth your while."
"Oh? How much are we talking?"
I had already worked out, at least roughly, how to use Jo Jeong-hwan in relation to Cheonyang-ji.
"A hundred-thousand-won bill? Two?"
"Let’s worry about that later. First, let’s do the job."
Jo Jeong-hwan wiped the grease from his hands on his pants.
Then he exhaled.
"Hoo. I wonder if this’ll really work."
Mana began to gather in Jo Jeong-hwan’s body.
Crack— crack—
As the sound of bones resetting echoed through the air, his face twisted grotesquely.
"G, ghhh?!
For a while, Jo Jeong-hwan remained in that bizarre state, then lowered his head.
When he looked up again, the first thing I saw was the black blotch covering half his face.
"How is it? Yongki big brother."
His voice had turned cutesy, sweeter than the real Jiye’s, and the round, dainty look of the child was reproduced perfectly.
"Insane."
I held out my hand.
"Let’s go, Jeong-hwan... Jiye."
Jo Jeong-hwan, now transformed into Jiye, tilted his head.
"Where to?"
I took hold of those tiny little hands and turned.
"To go beat the shit out of that motherfucking pervert bastard."